One of the regular bike commuters took charge of our group, since none of us really knew what we were doing. He instructed us on how to get on the train, then helped in arranging all of our bikes once we were all on. Each train has a limit of 24 bicycles, and they have to all be arranged just so. We met Harold LeGore already on the train, and were joined along the way by John Bailey and Doug Gillison. The conductor didn't want Doug to get on, as we were already at the 24 bike limit, but he got on anyway. We were joined in SF by Dana Edwards and Toni Rango. 13 people total for the ride up to RRR.
The train worked great. It was my first time, and I was impressed at really how easy everything went. We got to San Francisco at 8:10 am, so it was just a 1:40 trip, spent relaxing and talking with friends.
There wasn't any tourist traffic at 8 am on a Friday, so we were able to move along through San Francisco without too much trouble. The ferry people went off to the ferry building while the rest of us continued on to the Golden Gate Bridge. It was Deb, Kim, me, Dana, and John Bailey in this last group.
It was perfect weather today. The only fog we would experience was on the Bridge itself. We stopped in the middle to better experience the bridge for a bit before continuing on to Sausalito to stop for breakfast at the Lighthouse Coffee Shop. We finally left the restaurant at 10:10, almost a full hour ahead of last year. We were right on schedule.
Deb and Kim were the leaders for this ride, but I knew the route better than them. I kept the group on course, but they chose the reststops. Kim was winning most of the city limit signs, but Deb did manage to also get a few of them. I tried but wasn't fast enough.
In Olema we just had a short stop, as the plan was to stop for oysters in Marshall. But by the time that we got close to Marshall we found Harold riding along, so we figured that now we had to keep going so as to pass him up and go catch the others also. We soon caught and passed John Zidak, Jeanne, Ruth and Doug, but we were in Tomales before we finally found Anthony, Clarisa, and Toni. We finally stopped and had a good long reststop here in Tomales, letting everyone catch back up again.
Highway 1 was closed between here and Valley Ford and they were using Middle Rd as a detour so we decided to ride over by Dillon Beach instead, even though it meant more climbing. Coming down a hill and across a bridge, Dana hit the bump at the edge of the bridge and his water bottle popped out. Before he could stop, it rolled off the edge and down into the water below. We stopped to look, but it would have meant a serious swim to retrieve it, so Dana decided that he didn't really want that water bottle anymore.
Climbing the hill into Occidental, I was riding with Deb, while Kim and Dana went on ahead. Coming into town, I looked around and found that I was now missing Deb. I turned and went back, finding her stopped at the edge of the road and eating blackberries. Deb had been eyeing the blackberry bushes all afternoon, and so now she finally stopped. Deb had just gotten back from a week in Washington State with her friend Saul. During that time, she had picked up Saul's way of living. It was "Live like a seal - eat wild food, play in the water, lay in the sun." Deb felt that this was the way to tour, and so she couldn't stand to be passing any more blackberry bushes without stopping for them.
Since Kim and Dana were probably waiting for us, I went on into town and found them at the store. Next door was a "floozy". We got this term from the Sierra to the Sea tour, when Deb and Pam got all the girls to wear lingerie over their bike clothes on the day we went through Sacramento. We then continued this on the Death Ride campout when we went to Virginia City for the July 4th parade. This floozy was made from papermache and was sporting some hot lingerie and makeup.
When Deb finally joined us, we decided to just head on into camp at Casini Ranch, as we would almost get there on schedule if we left now. We pulled in at 4:45, just 15 minutes later than what I had told people to expect us.
We were met by Pamela Downs, who brought up Deb's and mine, and Dana's stuff. Pam was giving Dana a hard time about the excessive amount of stuff that he brought for just a 2-day campout. Dana said that he brought 6 pairs of jeans, as he didn't know which one he would want to wear.
The wine and cheese party was just getting started when we arrived. After we set up camp and showered, we hung out for awhile. It was good to see alot of people that we hadn't seen for awhile. Soon we got our small group together and walked over to Duncan Mills to have dinner at the Blue Heron.
There were 7 of us for dinner. It turned out that we were lucky to be seated as there was a wedding party that took up most of the restaurant. We never could figure out who the bride and groom were. We had a good meal, plus a few drinks.
Most of the others had already left to do a longer ride, but Pam and I wanted something a bit shorter. We were joined by Kim, Deb, Ben Mandac, Ray Rodriguez, and Jonathan Crockett. Kim wanted to get the oysters that she did not get to eat yesterday, so that was our main goal. We would go to Bodega Bay for lunch. Since we had not before gone on Coleman Valley from the Occidental side, we decided to do that also.
We got a 10:00 am start. We were all riding along liesurely, then Pam decided to sneak off the front. I mentioned to Kim that she must be going for the Camp Meeker sign, so Kim and the others took off after her. It was just Deb and I left off the back. We said it must be the fresh legs, as everyone but Kim did not ride yesterday. Funny thing was that Camp Meeker was still a good 3 miles up the road, so it was too early to start that sprint. When we finally got close to the sign we met Pam waiting for us. Pam made sure that she got past the sign just in front of us, so that she could get the sprint.
In Occidental, we all regrouped. Ray ended up helping some young lady fix a flat tire. She had all the stuff but didn't know how to use it. Deb had gotten a head start up the Coleman Valley hill. A few minutes later Pam decided that she better go off and join Deb. Just a short ways up the road, Pam met Deb stopped and eating blackberries again. Deb had figured out how to tour.
At the top of Coleman Valley we were all back together and stopped, enjoying the view. Another cyclist came by and asked if we had an allen wrench, as he needed to tighten his stem. Ray tried his but it was too short. Then Deb pulled out hers and it worked fine. Deb then announced that "Ray needed a manly tool."
Being on Coleman Valley brought back memories of the "Commando" ride two years ago. I mentioned to Pam that the other girls were still planning something more than what they did on STTS this year, but Pam would not believe me. I could only dream.
We stopped for lunch in Bodega Bay. Both Kim and Ben were craving oysters by this time. The others got fish. I had a cheeseburger. Since I had never had an oyster before, Kim offered me some of hers. I was afraid that I wouldn't like them, but to my surprise it went down pretty easily. We discussed some of the effects of eating oysters. I said we'd have to try it out later.
We next checked out the gift shop. Kim saw some swimsuits that she might like, so she was trying them on right there in the store, and I was helping. Kim would just put it on over her bike clothes and then I would help to pull it up and see if it was going to fit or not. It was a tough job but somebody had to do it.
Our next stop was the town of Bodega, just 5 miles down the road. Here Ben found a sign for BBQ oysters, so we all stopped in again. Just one more hill before we'd be back in camp. This was Joy Rd. I knew it would be a hill but I did not know any of the details. It turned out to be pretty steep in places and so we had a good workout getting up the hill. At Bittner Rd we turned right and went mostly downhill back into Occidental. Then it was back to camp.
Back at Casini Ranch at 4:30, we decided it was time to go for a swim in the Russian River. The water felt pretty good. Kim and I swam around for awhile while Pam only just got in.
Still some time left before the potluck dinner, so I started the second puzzle. Pam joined me. Ben would help out a bit also. Ben wasn't too fast at doing a puzzle, so each piece that he got in was a big accomplishment to him, so he would do a little cheer after each one.
As usual, I didn't bring anything to the potluck, but just relied on there being enough food, as there is usually much more than people can eat. It was the same this time. Luckily, Pam brought corn and portabella mushrooms for me and the others, so I had that plus alot of the salads on the table. I was full.
After dinner we decided to go back down next to the river where we saw that a band was setting up when we were there before. It seems that it was a Christian band, and that this church in Placerville was having their annual campout this weekend. A girl that they met in the bathroom had invited Pam and Deb earlier, so Pam asked if it was ok if she brought along a heathen. Now, a guy also invited us to join them. Pam introduced me as the heathen. So I then introduced my two wives, Pam and Deb. We wondered if the guy knew that we were joking or not.
Later that evening, I'd be walking around camp and people would come up to me and say "Two wives, huh?". At first I wondered how they knew, but then remembered that Pam was out there telling the story. Pam was also telling people to close their tents tonight, as Donny has had oysters for the first time and he wants to see if the effects are true.
It was mostly the same group of riders going home that rode up last Friday. All of the ferry people wimped out and found rides home. Ken would be joining us, so it was 6 people for the ride back to San Francisco. Kim, Deb, Donny, Dana, John Bailey, and Ken. Joining us for the ride up to Occidental was Pam, Paul, and Ben. Paul and Ken were both tired as they did the "Terrible One" yesterday, going 107 miles with 9800 ft of climbing. Ben was whining about it being too cold. It felt colder to me also, but that was because we were two hours earlier than yesterday.
In Occidental we decided to keep going, as we already had a bit of breakfast in camp. Kim said we'd stop in Tomales. On Gericke Rd, I mentioned to Kim that the county line was right at the top of the hill. Deb heard me also, so the two of them took off. I came up next to Deb and decided to help her up the hill so I was pushing while we were riding. Deb was first one up, beating Ken on the sprint to the Marin County sign. At the sign we stopped to regroup. I then remembered that we do not go through Tomales and that our next stop is the Cheese Factory, which was still a long way off. So we all made sure that we ate something here.
I hung back with Deb while we went along Chileno Valley Rd and up over Wilson Hill. When we got close to the Cheese Factory, I mentioned to Deb that the others were getting a headstart on lunch. That sped her up. We bought sandwiches and sat down to eat. I ate half of mine, then packed the other half. Just as soon as I packed it, I decided that I was still a bit hungry and so I ate that half also. Next up was our obligatory nap on the grass. This felt great. When we finally got going again, we had spent a full hour at lunch.
On Shady Lane, we passed by a young girl and her lemonade stand. I wanted to stop but we rode on by. Then 100 yards down the road I saw that Deb and Kim both wanted to stop also, so we turned and rode back. 50 cents a cup and we ended up having 4 cups, plus lots of ice for our waterbottles.
Deb also got the Mill Valley sign, even though it was at the top of a long hill. And she even got this one without any help from me. She wanted to beat Ken up the hill again and she did it. Good thing that Ken was still tired from yesterday.
Back across the Golden Gate Bridge, Dana thought that he might make the 4:00 train so he took off. Ken wanted to try but hung back with us. Our plan was just to get the 5:00 train, so we were not in any hurry. Near Fisherman's Wharf, Deb and I stopped to check out these rocks stacked on top of each other and unbelievably balanced. We figured that they must be glued together or something. Then we noticed this guy talking to a group of spectators and figured that they must be his rocks. Just then he bumped a rock and it fell over, so he set to work getting it balanced again. It was amazing. He had this over-one-foot-wide rock, and he got it to stand up on its pointy end.
Continuing on Deb and I found that the road we came in on was oneway in the wrong direction, so we jogged over a block. This one wasn't much better as it had a trolly track in the right lane, but we managed it anyway. This took us over to The Embarcadero and on to the CalTrain station. Along the way, Deb almost got hit by a car and then we almost ran into a few jaywalking pedestrians, but otherwise we made it without incident. It was now 4:30, plenty of time to catch the 5:00 train.
Back onboard the train, we found that we almost had the bike section to ourselves so we were able to spread out, 2 seats per person with our shoes off and our feet propped up. Just before the train was to leave, Dana showed up. We had forgotten all about him. Seems that he got there at 4:03, just missing the earlier train, and so had gone for something to eat.
It was a nice trip back to San Jose. We were all tired from the riding and the weekend and it would be good to finally get back home. I didn't mind that our train was 20 minutes late, pulling into the Tamien Station at about 7:00 pm. Still plenty of daylight so I had no problem with this. They didn't get in till about 9:00 pm last year and had to ride home in the dark.
The Tamien Station empties right out onto the Hwy 87 bike path, so we didn't even have to go through a parking lot or cross a road. Ken left us here to go home, while Deb, Kim, and I went south along the bike path. At Branham Deb continued on while Kim and I turned left.
Kim and I then agreed to meet up again for dinner, so we went to our houses to shower first. We had also gone out to dinner following the STTS, so this felt the same to me. It was a good ending to a great weekend. It would be tough to have to go back to work the next day.